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Shot Selection - A Crucial Spoke in the Offensive Wheel
By Coach Randy Brown

There are many components of offensive basketball for a coach and his players to master. The offensive system dictates ball movement, use of the dribble, spacing, and individual player skills. The goal of every possession is to score points, whether it be one, two or three. The responsibility of scoring these points rests solely on someone not even in uniform; the coach!

"How could the coach score points as he sits on the bench", you say. He doesn't actually shoot the ball but through his leadership he designs an offensive attack that creates scoring opportunities. Once these opportunities are created, the RIGHT player must take the RIGHT shot. This thinking often separates the good coach from the mediocre one.

We all understand that your best friend or the Superintendent has kids on the team and want you to extend the green light to them on offense. Guess what! The quickest way to be given the green light out of your job is to give the green light to players who can't score. Make up your mind how you want to play and how your philosophy fits into your specific situation.

The following are crucial considerations for the coach and the quality of shots taken by his team:

1. Your Offensive System--The quality and variety of shots your team takes will depend greatly upon the offensive attack you choose. Are you a fast break team that takes quick shots or more of a half-court team? Do you strive to get most of your shots from the paint, mid-range, or from long range? Are you specific in terms of the kind of shots that you want taken, or is your offense an equal opportunity activity? Be clear in your approach to offense because you may be hurting the bottom line, quality of shots taken, by the offense you are running.

2. Who Takes the Shots--This goes back to the "green light" theory of coaching offense. Your team must score points to win, I think we can all agree to that. How you are going to score is a much more complicated predicament. Of the five players on the floor you will probably at best have three good shooters, though most coaches have one or two. How do you determine who can be trusted to shoot the shots to score the points. My advice is to seriously contemplate this issue. You may want to make some important changes to your philosophy and your offensive attack.

3. Where Do the Shots Come From--Equally as important as who takes the majority of shots is where on the floor they are taken from. Consider these questions:

a. Your best post player shoots 67 % from the field. Does this mean you let him take ANY shot he likes?

b. How do you know where on the floor your players are most efficient from? One player may be a 32% field goal shooter, but is 60% when he shoots in the mid-range (8-15 feet). Does he know that and do you know that?

c. Good shooters can fool coaches because of their ability to hit the three point shot. We tend to give them the green light from anywhere when in fact they are poor from anywhere but three point land.

4. The Secret--If you are not a believer in statistics, I would say that the quality of your team's shot selection is average. Many high school coaches suffer from nagging parents who think their son or daughter should be taking a lot of shots on the team. How can you justify your decision to not allow their son or daughter to shoot in games? Parents want and deserve an answer, and it needs to be a well thought out one.

The secret is to use statistics in everything you do. A sure fire way to determine the accuracy of a player's shooting ability is to record every shot they take from the beginning of practice to the end. What you will discover will amaze you. Granted, there is validity in game statistics when everything is one the line. By taking extensive statistics you will begin to see the true picture of shooting mediocrity. You may say, "I don't have enough people around to take all those stats." That may be true, but if you are committed to improving your shot selection and accuracy it is well worth your time and creativity to get it done.

When parents approach you with the age old, "Why don't you let Johnny shoot?", you will now be armed to educate them on the facts. The hard, cold statistics are always enough to stand on their own and until you take a stand with parents, they will make your job as a coach a real battle.

Do yourself a favor during this off season and use this article to analyze your philosophy, your offense, and your shot selection. A small improvement can lead to great results next season. Good luck!